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The LituanicaSAT-1 team have announced the FM transponder should be active during the weekend of May 17-18, 2014.

Dear radio amateurs,

I would like to notify that a long term testing of LituanicaSAT-1 FM transponder is planned for this weekend starting from May 17, 04:30 UT. The transponder will remain active for the whole weekend provided that battery voltage does not reach unsafe levels. As always your reports are very welcome. Please send them and any questions you may have to ly5n@qrz.lt.

73, Laurynas Maciulis LY1LM, LY5N

Frequency are approximately 435.1755 MHz (+/- 10 kHz Doppler shift) for the downlink and 145.950 MHz for the uplink with 67 Hz CTCSS.

The tiny satellite is just 10x10x10 cm with a mass of 1.090 kg yet it has a VGA camera and a 145/435 MHz FM voice transponder, designed and built by Lithuanian radio amateurs.

The prototype of the FM repeater has been operating in the home of its designer Žilvinas Batisa LY3H in Elektrėnai, Lithuania. Further information at http://ly3h.epalete.com/?p=303

The LituanicaSAT-1 team have provided a further update on their CubeSat which was deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on February 28.

Dear radio amateurs,

As most of you have already noticed, since May 12 the satellite has been set up to nominal operational mode permanently with noticeable 9k6 baud packet telemetry on 437.544 MHz every 30s. However next day on May 13 a telemetry report from W7KKE has shown that a latchup has been detected on 3.3 V1 EPS channel.

This channel is providing power for CW FM beacon and photo camera. Furthermore following reports from W7KKE and LU4EOU have shown that an OBC reset had occurred on Tuesday, 13 May 2014, 16:27 UT and on 14 May 2014, 01:47 UT (9 h 20 min since first reset).

The reason for these resets and latchup are still unknown but currently all systems are working properly. Due to that we prefer to leave the satellite in safe mode during passes outside the range of our ground station in Vilnius.

The LituanicaSAT-1 team have provide a further update on upcoming operation of the CubeSat’s FM transponder.

LituanicaSAT-1

Dear amateur radio operators,

The LituanicaSAT-1 FM transponder is scheduled to be operative again on May 1, from 9:30 UT to 14:00 UT.

Satellite’s ground control station in Vilnius will be monitoring the transponder’s frequency and attempt to call CQ with the amateur call sign LY5N (LituanicaSAT-1 callsign) when the satellite will be in sight of the ground station. The expected time windows are:

The LituanicaSAT-1 team are carrying out a test of the FM transponder and they request reports. [Latest update added April 23 1839 UT]

LituanicaSAT-1

Dear amateur satellite radio operators,

A courtesy notice that LituanicaSAT-1 FM transponder test is in progress. Today we performed initial operational test over Lithuania successfully. Downlink frequency was noted to have shifted to 435.1755 MHz. More tests are needed to verify that and determine exact uplink frequency shift but 145.950 MHz should work.

Please remember to use CTCSS PL 67 Hz sub-tone. If no problems will be encountered the operational tests for 23rd of April are planned to resume on 12:45 UTC and finish on 16:00 UTC. Just after activation you should here callsign in Morse and short salutation message from Lithuanian president. This identification message is transmitted every 5 min if there is no radio activity as well.

Your reports are more than welcome. Please submit your reports to ly5n@qrz.lt (please provide some supporting data like frequencies, max elevation of the pass, signal to noise ratio, etc.). Also please feel free to share this information through any media channels.

Best Regards,
LituanicaSAT-1 team

UPDATE April 23 1839 UT

Dear radio amateur operators,

Thanks for all of your reports from today’s successful transponder test!

During 14:20 UTC pass over Lithuania FM transponder has switched off automatically after mode transitioning telecommand has been sent to the satellite. This was standard test procedure to verify correct operation of the on board computer during operation of the transponder.

Next test is scheduled for Apr 24 from 13:30 UTC to 15:00 UTC. Again we will be grateful to your reports, including FSK packet telemetry on 437.544 MHz. Please respect other radio amateurs and obey transponder operating techniques.

A greetings message from the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė has been transmitted by the amateur radio satellite LituanicaSAT-1. She is believed to be the first President of any nation to have a greetings message sent from space since President Eisenhower in 1958.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė – Image Augustas Didzgalvis

In 2013 the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė visited the Science Communication and Information Center (SCIC) at Vilnius University. There she saw the amateur radio CubeSat LituanicaSAT-1. Using a handheld radio and the call sign LY5N she transmitted through the satellite’s FM voice transponder.

Her words “Greetings to all Lithuanians around the world” were recorded on a memory chip in the satellite and the message was successfully transmitted from space on March 22, 2014 at 04:17:38 UT.

LituanicaSAT-1 was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on January 9, 2014 and was deployed with other amateur radio satellites on February 28.

The tiny satellite is just 10x10x10 cm with a mass of 1.090 kg yet it has a VGA camera and a 145/435 MHz FM voice transponder, designed and built by Lithuanian radio amateurs.

The prototype of the FM repeater has been operating in the home of its designer Žilvinas Batisa LY3H in Elektrėnai, Lithuania. Further information at http://ly3h.epalete.com/?p=303

Watch President Dalia Grybauskaitė’s greetings message being transmitted from space

In 2013 the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė visited the Science Communication and Information Center (SCIC ) at Vilnius University. There she saw the amateur radio CubeSat LituanicaSAT-1 and tested the satellite’s FM voice transponder with a handheld radio using the call sign LY5N.

LituanicaSAT-1 was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on January 9, 2014 and was deployed with other amateur radio satellites on February 28.

The tiny satellite is just 10x10x10 cm with a mass of 1.090 kg yet it has a VGA camera and a 145/435 MHz FM voice transponder, designed and built by Lithuanian radio amateurs.

The prototype of the FM repeater has been operating in the home of its designer Žilvinas Batisa LY3H in Elektrėnai, Lithuania. Further information at http://ly3h.epalete.com/?p=303